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Gallia is a country in Valkyria Chronicles' fictional 1930s Europe, still recovering from the last European War. On its eastern border, you have the East European Imperial Alliance. To the west lies the Atlantic Federation. Gallia is caught in the middle of their struggle, as these great powers converge to rob the energy-rich nation of its fuel. Taking up arms in defense of their homeland are the everyday people of the Gallian militia. Not only does Valkyria Chronicles serve as an interesting commentary on the struggles of soldiers in times of war, it also manages to be a thoroughly entertaining game, worthy of praise for its graphics, music, storytelling, and gameplay.

Valkyria Chronicles introduces the CANVAS engine, which renders the world in a hand-drawn, illustrated style. The effect is simply breathtaking, like that of a watercolor painting in motion. The visual techniques made possible by the CANVAS engine are an evolution of the cel-shaded, inked style touched on by Capcom's Okami, further blurring the line between conventional art forms and in-game graphics. Even the borders of the screen are left uncolored, the edges fuzzy with this virtual paint, lending more visual resemblance to an actual canvas.

The World is Your Canvas

The CANVAS engine's shading technique is particularly eye-catching, as it employs hatching lines to add texture and depth to the game's surfaces. Even the sound effects in are rendered visually with kinetically charged on-screen lettering, from the "ratta-ratta" of machinegun fire to the "rrmble" of powerful tank engines, much like you'd see in a comic book.

If you're unfortunate enough to lose a battle, you'll watch the color and detail bleed out of the screen until all that remains is the canvas and a few dark outlines, reminiscent of a sketch that the artist decided never to turn into a finished piece.

The battlefield environments are sprawling, filled with all sorts of detail, including interactive objects like working elevators and trolleys, destructible barricades and sandbags, and walls that can be smashed through by a brave tank driver. Tall grasses can conceal crawling soldiers, while sniper's nests can provide a bird's eye view of the battlefield, with the game's user-friendly sight lines revealing the location of all visible enemy targets.